Alien Shadow vol 2 Rough Childhood
by mike loeven
Summary: Captured by the transport's crew, with no hope of escape, cassandra relives her haunted past, and her former identity is reveled
1. Ghosts Of The Past

**Welcome back: I know I said one or 2 days but school was canceled today and I got to spend the entire time working on the first chapter.**

**Many of you wanted to know more about Cassandra. So I put in the little scene with the med scan in volume 1 chapter 6 for those of you who are into the details of how things work. I decided to save her actual past for volume 2 due to the suggestions of a friend. This chapter starts seamlessly where the last volume ended **

**Ps. I still need a proofreader. by proofreader I mean someone who can actually mark the changes that need to be made rather than telling me where to look.**

**Ok I realise that not everyone has read the first volume yet so I decided to add on the expression guide to the first chapter in V2 to help people understand how the characters are interacting withought needing to read and remember V1**

please look carefully at the different ways that the characters express themselves. under special circumstances there will be symbols inside of the quotation mark repersenting the different modes of comunication for example take the word hello.

"hello" this is normal speech

"((hello))" this means the character is thinking and no one else hears

"+hello+" this means the character is talking using telepathy

"HELLO" All caps means yelling

"any phrase with only  
ONE or TWO words in ALL CAPS means emphasis on those words or phrases"

**Chapter 1 **

**Ghosts of the past**

"LEAVE HER SHE IS ALREADY AS GOOD AS DEAD" shouted Sam as Cassandra struggled the remove the small hatchling from her unconscious mother's face. "Look I know how much she means to you but the drones are close behind we have to move now."

"How can you say that" she screamed to her big brother "mom is still breathing we cant just leave her here, who is going to take care of Jason" she said pointing at her crying baby brother

"Look sis" Sam said taking the head of a leaping drone and turning it into Swiss cheese with his pulse rifle, barely managing to dodge the still flying corpse. "If we stay here we are all dead. He have to get to the emergency fallout shelter it is the only part of the base they can't break into." Seven more drones came tearing around the corner alerted by the sound of the shots. "Cassie take Jason and get to the shelter" Sam yelled grabbing the crying infant just before a drone's tongue shot out and struck the floor where Jason had been laying "ill hold them off as long as I can" Sam yelled to his little sister as he tossed her his screaming brother.

"Come on Sam get out of there," Cassandra screamed as she ran through the doorway. She turned around and saw her brother still killing drones left and right but for every one he shot ten more came pouring out of the hall.

"Cassandra I am not going to make it" Sam yelled, "RUN"

Cassandra just stood in the doorway watching, hoping that Sam would try to make a break for the door. Suddenly he did something that would haunt her forever. Cassandra, only ten at the time, saw every second of her big brother's ultimate sacrifice as if in slow motion. He pointed his rifle toward the door where she was standing and shot the emergency fire alarm. As the large fire doors slammed shut in front of her separating her from the battle, Cassandra watched through the small view port in the door with tears streaming down her face. Sam was being pinned up against the wall by a drone after being impaled by its tail.

Sam knew the tail had severed his spine because he couldn't feel anything from the chest down. He saw the drone bear it's fangs in anticipation of fresh meat. He looked toward his sister, still watching from the door. He smiled at her "((You go have a long, full life, sis))" he thought as he reached for his rifle. "hope you enjoy your last meal" he said to the drone who was holding one of his legs in it's mouth. Than, he pushed the button next to the trigger.

Cassandra screamed as she saw the Drone begin to rip her brother apart. She nearly threw up when she saw that he was still alive. The last thing she saw was him smiling at her, and there was something in his eyes that told her to….. She dove to the ground and jumped on top of the baby to shield him just as the heard the dull thunk of the rifle's grenade canister firing. No sooner had she hit the floor and secured her struggling brother than she heard the blast and felt the wave of heat as the fire door's window blew out showering her with broken glass.

"SSAAAMMMM" she screamed jumping up and looking through the shattered glass, only to find that flaming steel girders had collapsed and were blocking the door. Cassandra could tell by the sound of the drones screeching, that they were either burning alive or trapped under the flaming debris. Either way her brother's last act had stopped the things in their tracks, or so she had thought. Her head was still ringing from the blast, when she felt a feeling she dreaded more than anything else. It was the feeling of danger. Since she was 5 she had a very limited telepathic ability to sense strong emotions. What she felt now was a mind filled only with pain and the intent to cause harm. It was more intense than anything she had ever felt before almost to the point of giving her a migraine. She leaped up and ran down the hall toward the shelter. Looked back just in time to see a large drone still on fire, with a large portion of the left side of it's face and jaw face missing, and one of it's arms blown off, break through the air vent leading from the room where her older brother had just died. Cassandra bolted and the drone chased after her. Too scared to notice what she was doing, she turned the wrong corner and headed deeper into the base and towards the heart of the hive. Despite the base's mandatory requirement of combat and fitness training Cassandra found the drone was gaining on her. "Dead end. Dammit," screamed Cassandra sending baby Jason into a renewed screaming fit as she almost collided with a sealed containment door.

The drone came right at them it's acid blood dripping from it's numerous wounds. It reached down and grabbed Cassandra. As it flexed its tail to strike she ripped herself out of the creatures weak grip but too late, the tail connected. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. Although her chest was incredibly sore from the impact the drone did not have the strength left to kill her. The tail had not been able to penetrate the armor vest her brother had given her. She looked at the drone as it tried to flex it's tail for another strike. Placing the baby out of harms way she stood up and caught the tail in mid strike. The drone tried to pull it's tail out of her grasp but it had already lost so much blood that it didn't even have the strength left to harm an insect. The drone tried to screech in anger but only managed to cough up some blood with a gurgling sound before collapsing dead on the floor.

Shaking as she picked up her brother Cassandra looked around for the first time since she started running from the crazed drone. Her heart sank and her blood ran cold as she realized that not only had she gotten completely lost but also she had gotten lost in the part of the base that had become the xenomorph's hive. She tried to pick up something from anyone else that had survived the initial attack but she could only sense brief sparks of fear. No way could she use it to find her way to the shelter even if she was able to pinpoint some people there was no way of telling whether it was the shelter or an egg chamber she was heading to.

"((I cant stay here in the hall. Its to open they'll find me in no time.))" She thought as she began searching for someplace to hide. Cassandra ran back down the hall. She had no idea where to go, and all the familiar markings were covered with that thick black organic slime the creatures used to create a hive. Finally, after about 20 minutes, she seemed to be making progress in the right direction. She heard a hissing noise as she approached one of the weapon development labs. She turned around to see a pack of drones following her they jumped onto the walls and proceeded to surround her from all sides. "GO AWAY" she screamed trying to hit one of the approaching drones with her fist. She missed and the drones circled closer. She dropped to the ground and tried to keep them from getting at Jason. The drones were within inches of her head. They seemed to be trying to decide what to do with her. The largest of the aliens a royal guard grabbed her by the head and lifted Cassandra right up to its face. She whimpered as the massive creature began examining her. It reached out with it's tongue and licked her face. "((please don't eat me please don't eat me please don't eat me))" she prayed. The guard shrieked and hurled Cassandra to the ground. The other drones leapt on her and began ripping off her body armor trying to get to their dinner. Cassandra felt searing pain as one of the drones finally managed to rip through the leg armor and sunk it's teeth into her calf muscle. Cassandra screamed. Even though she knew the creatures wouldn't care she put every little bit of energy she had left into her scream all her agony, her fear, her hatred for these monsters all came out in one final death shriek.

"((This can't be happening….. Whats going on))" Cassandra thought when she opened her eyes. The drones were screeching and holding their heads as they backed away from her. They stopped and stood looking at her hissing in anger. The royal guard ignored the drones and came straight for her. Cassandra looked up at the alien as it approached. "LEAVE ME ALONE" she screamed. Just then, the creatures head exploded.

Cassandra looked up only to see the rest of the drones were also looking around in confusion. Another drone's head blew up, followed by another, than a drone's arms were blown off. One by one the creatures were cut down. Cassandra heard a low hum followed by a series of loud clunks as another 2 drones were dispatched. Looking around for the source of the noise she glanced toward the weapons la and tears of joy came to her eyes. Standing in the now open door was a large battle mech.

Dr. Connors looked around for the source of the scream. There was too much damn smoke and he had to find whoever it was fast. There were too many drones around for him to hold off forever. And the prototype reactor on his mech was over heating fast. "HEY CAN YOU HEAR ME" he called over the mech's speaker system.

Cassandra tried to answer the man only to find that she had lost her voice. Jason seemed to be in a state of shock and wasn't even crying. Cassandra tried to move toward the door as the mech began to retreat back into the lab. She was about to pass out from the pain so she did the only thing she could think of and lit one of her small flares.

Upon seeing the bright white flame of burning phosphorous pierce the smoke, Dr. Connors maneuvered his prototype mech toward the light. "Oh my god" he said when he saw the figures sprawled on the floor "those are the admiral's kids." A sudden shriek caught the scientist's attention as second royal guard who had been hiding in the shadows leapt at the mech from behind.

Cassandra looked up to see one of the massive aliens ripping open the cockpit and devouring the poor scientist. She saw a bright explosion as the monster hurled the now useless machine to the side where detonated. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the burning mech's fusion core cracked wide open and spewing radioactive gas.

"((Am I dead))" thought Cassandra.

"+No+" the thought just entered her head without provocation.

"((where am I))" Cassandra thought as she noticed she was no longer lying on the floor.

"+safe+" again the thought simply popped into her mind

Cassandra opened her eyes only to see darkness. She felt around for something to hold on to but found nothing. She became aware that she was floating, drifting aimlessly through the darkness.

"((What is this place))" she thought only to be answered immediately by a foreign entity in the back of her mind.

"+home+"

Cassandra suddenly realized that she wasn't breathing. In fact she was completely submerged in a thick fluid medium. Panicking she tried to swim to the surface, only to be held back by an unknown force. She tried to scream but her lungs were full of fluid and she couldn't make any noise save for a slight gurgle.

"((HELP PLEASE, I'M DROWNING))" she screamed in her mind.

"+We are helping+" replied the entity "+you are in no danger+"

Cassandra felt a deep sense of lethargy overtaking her as her panic faded and she realised that somehow she no longer need to breathe. "((my brother is he))" she thought.

"+Yes he is doing fine, now rest+" with those words, the voice stopped and Cassandra gave in to her exhaustion.

**"And there you have it, the first chapter of volume 2" proof readers still wanted **


	2. First Contact

**Here's another chapter in the alien shadow series enjoy **

**PLZ GIVE FEEDBACK AND RVIEWS**

**Chapter 2 **

**First Contact**

"((How long have I been out))" Cassandra thought as she opened her eyes.

"+about 4 of your weeks+" The mysterious voice replied

"((who are you?))" she thought "((how can you know what I am thinking?))"

"+I am the one who saved you+" it replied "+your natural abilities allow me to communicate with you+"

"((Do you have a name?))" Cassandra thought

"+Not one that your mind could understand in its current state+" replied the voice "+it would prove easier for communication if you would project your thoughts rather than direct them to yourself+"

"+You mean imagine that I am talking to you+" Cassandra thought, this time trying the voice's suggestion.

"+Yes+"

"+When can I get out of here+" she asked

"+when the damage is repaired+"

"+what damage, I feel fine+"

"+only because I have blocked your pain+" answered the voice "+The physical wounds have been repaired, but a greater damage has been done.+"

"+what are you talking about+"

"+you were exposed to the gasses from the destroyed machine+" it answered "+you have suffered severe damage to your internal organs and genetic makeup because of the radiation+"

"+What are you talking about+" asked a very confused Cassandra. "+I don't even use makeup+"

"+Never mind you will learn later+" the voice replied "+for now just trust me+"

"+How can I trust you, I cant even see you+"

"+Because if I wanted to, I could have just left you with the drones back in the hall+"

"+When can I go home how much longer am I going to be here+"

"+perhaps for the rest of your life+" the entity replied "+I am still not sure I will be able to save you+"

"+please try+"

"+we are trying+"

"+We+" she asked

"+Yes, there are others assisting as well+" the voice replied, "+I am going to make you sleep again. When you wake up you again the procedure will be finished and you will be released along with your brother+"

"+Wait+" said Cassandra as she felt herself slipping from reality

"+Yes+"

"+why are you trying to save me+"

"+Because you have proven that you and your line deserve to live+" replied the voice, as Cassandra was once again rendered unconscious

It was the most unusual thing Cassandra had ever experienced. She knew she was still unconscious and yet she still had a sense of time. For the next few weeks unable do anything, including dream, Cassandra became more and more restless.

A sudden jerk awoke Cassandra from her mental prison. With a loud splash her prison ruptured spilling her onto the floor. Cassandra tried to stand, but her body was almost completely numb. She opened her eyes to find nothing except for a murky darkness filled with shadows. Her vision slowly began to sharpen and become clearer until, after a few minutes she could make out her surroundings. Almost immediately Cassandra wished she was still blind as the interior of the hive made itself visible out of the darkness.

Cassandra ran for the nearest door, only to misstep and trip over a slime-covered chair. She stood up again finally regaining some feeling in her legs and feet. Cassandra punched the button to open the door and bolted down the hall beyond. Cassandra was so intent on finding the surface life she didn't even notice how fast she was moving, let alone the fact that she wasn't tiring out. The whole base was covered by the hive and Cassandra knew she was even more lost than the last time. "+now would be a good time for some help+" she called out hoping her friend would answer.

"+go right+" the voice responded as she reached a intersection.

"+What now+" Cassandra asked as she tore down the next hall

"+Right Again 3 halls down+" replied the voice "+than go through the 15th door on the left+"

"+This isn't the surface lift+" Cassandra thought as she found the elevator "+this is the service lift for the lower levels+"

"+Why are you trying to get to the surface+" the voice asked in a confused tone.

"+Are you insane those things have completely infested this place+"

"+I cant let you go up there"+ the voice responded. "+while you're here in the lower levels you are safe. But if you try to head to the surface, I can't offer you protection from the other hive infesting the upper levels it was hard for me to even to get you down here where they cannot reach you.+"

"+oh my god Jason is alone down here+" Cassandra gasped

"+he is protected+"

"+I want to see him, Is he Ok+"

"+your brother has recovered fully just as you have+" the voice replied "+for now you should head down 143 floors that is where you will be the safest. The others will reach this level any minute+".

It took Cassandra about 5 minutes to press the right button on the lift. She was still mostly numb and her vision was very blurry. As the service lift began it's slow descent deeper into the infested base Cassandra began wondering whether or not she was making the right decision in listening to this voice in the back of her mind. She sat down on the floor and began rubbing her arms and legs trying to remove the numbness. As the lift continued down she noticed that although not completely the feeling had come back to her body. Cassandra began to feel strange as the numbness slowly wore off. She couldn't understand it, but her body felt different somehow. She tried to look at herself but her eyes refused to show her anything other than fuzzy colors and shapes.

Cassandra stood up as the lift came to a stop. "+why did you send me here+" Cassandra called out upon seeing a hall that was even more infested than the floors above here.

"+Because it is safer+" the cryptic entity replied.

"+How can it be safe those things will be running around everywhere+" she asked

"+The ones down here will be kept away from you+" it replied "+haven't you noticed that you haven't even seen one drone since I released you+"

"+Where do I go now+" asked Cassandra.

"+I have taken the time to set up a room for you in the manner to which you are accustomed+" the entity replied as an image of the level's floor plan appeared in Cassandra's mind showing her where to go. "+I will speak with you again tomorrow when your senses have fully returned.+"

Cassandra was shocked when she reached the room and opened the doors. She could tell immediately that the room was cleaned with not a trace of the infestation anywhere. Cassandra felt around for a bed and for the first time since the whole ordeal began she slept peacefully.

**Took me a long time to do this chapter given all the Final exams in school and the contradictions and inconsistencies I had to fix.**


	3. The Alien In The Mirror

**Here's another chapter in the alien shadow series enjoy **

**PLZ GIVE FEEDBACK AND RVIEWS**

**Chapter 3 **

**The Alien In The Mirror**

Cassandra opened her eyes the next day to find that her vision had completely returned it was still dark but she could vaguely make out the surroundings. The blurriness was gone and for the first time she could see that she was in one of the small apartments on the lower level dorms. "((how did I get here))" she thought "((did anything I remember really happen, or was it a bad dream))".

Cassandra stood up and stretched. "((What's wrong with me))" Cassandra thought as she realized that she was still feeling strange. She walked into the apartment's bathroom to take a shower and try to forget the horrors she had witnessed.

Movement on the side of the room caught her eyes. Cassandra turned suddenly only to see something looking at her through a large window. Even though dark it didn't take her long to realize it was one of the creatures that had attacked her before. She jumped back in shock expecting the creature to break through the glass and devour her. To her surprise the creature jumped back as well. Apparently it was just as surprised to see her, as she was to see it. She tried to move to the door… The alien followed. Cassandra reached for the light switch at the same time that the creature reached to the side as well.

The bright fluorescent lights momentarily blinded her but Cassandra quickly looked to the window and saw what the creature really was. "((this cant be happening to me))" thought Cassandra as she discovered that the window was actually a mirror. No matter how much she blinked or rubbed her eyes the creature was still there staring back at her when she opened them. She slowly put her hands to her face, her skin felt mostly normal save for the fact that it was a pale blue. Cassandra pinched herself trying to wake up but everything she was experiencing was all too real.

Unable to cope with what she was seeing, Cassandra lost all control and screamed. Had there been any drones near by, they would have been drawn by the noise. But she didn't care, nothing made sense, everything was a nightmare. Cassandra screamed until she lost her voice, finally collapsing to the floor crying.

"I would have let you find out earlier,"+ the voice began +"but I had to be assured you wouldn't panic and run into danger"+

"YOU KNOW WHATS HAPPENING"+ Cassandra screamed +"AND YOU DON'T EVEN TELL ME"+

"It would have been a lot easier if you were younger and had not been given such a bad impression of us"+ it replied trying to calm her.

"YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!"+ Cassandra shrieked +"I THOUGHT YOU WERE TRYING TO HELP ME"+

"what have we done to harm you"+ it asked

"YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS AND MOST OF MY FAMILY"+ she screamed in reply.

"They were killed by the others, we had nothing to do with that"+

"HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM."+ She yelled +"I MAY BE 10 BUT I AM A LOT SMARTER THAN THAT. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES.

"my children and I are not like the ones you encountered"+

"Children?"+ said Cassandra calming just a little +"I assume you are the queen"+

"Yes and no"+ it replied +"although I perform the functions of a queen I do not have absolute control over any of my children save the drones. As for the others that escaped, they are not from our hive and I cannot control them actions while the other queens live."+

"What makes your hive any different from the others, my teacher told me that your kind were created several hundred thousand years ago as a mindless biological weapon. And that your commands were inserted directly into your DNA."+ she asked quickly becoming confused +"Even the top scientists couldn't control or change them, And you're telling me that you are naturally different"+

"Our strain never had a command, we lacked the final encoding that would control our actions"+ the queen replied +"your scientists found our incomplete genetic code in the ruins of an ancient research outpost and created the first of our kind. They didn't know that we were missing the command segment, and that left us able to think for ourselves." My race has been developing here for well over 400 years since the first of my line was created."+

"and how would you happen to know all of that"+ Cassandra asked.

"part of the knowledge comes from the information our creators implanted in our DNA. The rest I learned from the human scientists."+ The queen replied +"they held many conversations in close proximity to my cage and those of my family over 400 years my line was able to listen and learn."+

(("why am I wasting time talking when I should be trying to get out of here")) Cassandra thought.

"And Where would you go Cassandra"+ asked the queen +"you know that the human attitude toward our kind is shoot on sight"+

"CAN YOU STOP DOING THAT"+ Shouted Cassandra, miffed that the queen kept listening in on her private thoughts

"I can't stop."+ it replied +"I can choose to ignore your thoughts, but I cant help being able to see them."+

"what am I supposed to be doing with myself"+ she asked +"I don't even have a life anymore"+

"you have a brother"+ said the queen +"and I have no knowledge of raising a human intellect"+

"Where is he"+ asked Cassandra. +"you told me he was fine but I haven't seen him since the hallway"+

"We have been trying to figure how to get him out of a small hole in the wall"+ the queen said +"none of us can fit"+

"Where is he, ill get him"+ Cassandra said beginning to worry about Jason's safety.

"Right down the hall in one of the air shaft openings"+ replied the queen +"we wouldn't have left him alone had we known how quickly he would adapt to his new physiology.

Fuming at her string of bad luck, the queen's indifference to the whole thing, and the fact that she had been forcibly mutated beyond any recognition. Cassandra left the room to face her next headache.

**I can guarantee things will get better after this chapter I just needed to get some weird background information across before I got into the interesting stuff and had a nightmare of a time even making it make this much sense. **


	4. Now For Somthing Completely Different

**I had a long delay with school and things but I am finally back with the next install meant.**

**PLZ GIVE FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS**

**Chapter 4**

**And Now For Something Completely Different**

John looked into the cell at the unconscious figure. (("It's been like this for days")) he thought. ("I wonder if this is normal… it just seems to be waiting for something. And I am sure I don't want to know what it is."))

"COME IN" shouted captain Saunders as he unlocked the door.

"Sorry to bother you Don" said Victor as he entered the cabin. "But I have been doing some thinking"

"!! With your Head??" Jeered the captain "I thought you needed your gun to think for you."

"Sir this isn't the time for jokes" said Victor in his best (this is serious Don't fuck around) tone. "I have some concerns as to your last cargo stop."

"And…" replied the captain "what about it"

"Don't you find it a bit odd that all the trouble started after you picked up that Gencor box" Continued the Colonel.

"What do you mean all the trouble"?

"I read the ships logs to see if there was anyone behind this attack" Replied Victor flatly.

"I didn't think the logs told you about conspiracies and criminal masterminds" said Don.

"They Don't, I can just get a picture of who we are dealing with based on the patterns I have observed" answered the colonel slightly irritated "the grav buoy and the cloaked scout ship are indicators of a well funded and highly intelligent adversary. And from the fact that the creature went straight for the Gencor shipment and nothing else, I can assume that this is just the beginning of similar attacks."

"Ok, go on," said the captain giving a stern look.

"Yes sir I believe there is someone after this crate and I also from past experience that Gencor never lets it's shipments get stolen even if it means the destruction of the cargo and anything in the immediate vicinity."

"So what do you intend to do Colonel"

"Well I suggest you call Gencor and return the shipment under section 24D of the liability and security clause in the contract" replied Victor nervously.

"Why should I forfeit the money for a minor incident like this?" said the captain

"MINOR BUT TH–" Victor blurted out.

"The incident was a minor inconvenience as the incursion didn't cause much damage," sighed the captain "My son's actions and the damage caused by them are not technically a part of the incident report"

"That is not my point," snapped the colonel "My point is however that they will try again. Even if your son is bound and gagged and stored far away from the mech bay, I cannot adequately protect this ship against an enemy using Xenos with what we have now.

"Ok so why not try any way." Said the captain "if they attack again try your best but if they get the cargo our insurance will handle it"

"If you lose the cargo" Victor said grinning" than ill cover myself with steak sauce and walk into the alien's cell"

"Why the hell would you do that?" said the captain

"Because I would have a better chance of surviving a xeno that I would have against those corporate lawyers Gencor is bound to send after you" Victor said smiling "I heard even the yautja are afraid to hunt them because of their ruthlessness."

After Don was able to stop laughing he turned to Victor "Ok I get your point," he said, "I think that this situation counts as a Need-To-Know situation. I can use the partial disclosure act to get more information about the shipment and risks associated with it. Ill get back to you later."

"Under stood Sir" said Victor as he walked out the door.

The captain went back to his paperwork completely oblivious to the shadowy figure listening from behind the grate of the ventilation system.

As Victor headed off down the corridor, the sense of dread he'd been feeling all day began to get stronger. He looked around uneasily as that familiar feeling of being watched slowly crept up on him. "Sarah" he said

"Yes Colonel" the computer's voice replied

"Run a scan on this level for bugs"

"One xenomorphic life form detected in detention block alpha"

"Not that type of bug" snapped victor "the espionage kind"

"Sorry, given your active duty record I assumed you were using the common marine slang word for the I-Raptus species" replied Sarah "running scan for hidden recording/transmission devices"

"How long will this ta-" began Victor

"Scan Complete" replied the computer "no hidden recording devices found, but there are several unidentified and heavily encrypted data streams in various rooms of this level"

"Set up monitoring routines for the sources and attempt to decode the data" ordered Victor as he ran toward his office "also get the counter espionage trainees out of stasis and order them to meet me in my office in 5 minutes, I have some cleaning to do."

"Shall I send a maintenance droid to assist you"??

"Sarah, that time I WAS using slang." Victor snapped.

"Understood Colonel" came the reply.


	5. Shadows In The Dark

Chapter 5

**IT LIVES **

**SORREY FOR THE LONG DELAY BUT I FINALLY MANAGED TO CHIP AWAY THE WRITERS BLOCK AND AM NOW BACK**

**Please review **

**Chapter 5**

**Shadows In The Dark**

A black figure raced through the air ducts toward the engine room where his comrades were waiting. As the figure emerged into the small crawl space under the engines one of his companions greeted him with a salute. "What is our mission status commander?" asked the man. Because of his facemask his voice came out with a harsh metallic sound.

"The situation has become quite grave" replied the commander "I believe the crew is getting suspicious of the package. It is only a matter of time before they figure out our plan."

A third shadow stepped forward out of the darkness. "I understand our mission, but something unexpected has come up." He said holding up a holopad. "it would appear that someone else already knows about our package. They have sent an agent to try and steal it."

"Have you gotten a ID on the intruder" the commander asked.

"that is the unsettling part" the figure replied "they captured the agent in the act."

"very well" replied the commander "this changes things a bit. We must now eliminate the intruder before the crew can interrogate him, if it is too late than everyone who was involved must be silenced as well."

"that wont be necessary, the crew isn't going to get anything out of the intruder Sir" answered the man "the intruder isn't a human or even a sentient for that matter"

"Not Human"..? The commanders Glare froze the man in place. "This is not the time for jokes number 3."

The man regained his composure and turned to face the commander. "Sir this is no joke, the Prisoner is a unknown variety of I. Raptus Praetoria…. a bug sir." The man watched the commander carefully, knowing full well that he was authorized to kill each and every one of them if they couldn't handle this mission. "I assume who ever sent it will have the creature self destruct before the crew has a chance to begin a full analysis of it."

The commander stared at the man, eyes growing wide with panic behind his mask. "Do you have a visual of this creature in the holo pad."

The man designated number 3 pressed a button bringing up the image. "This is the creature they captured." He said pointing to miniature image of Cassandra that was now hovering in the middle of the room. "As you can see, it looks much different from all known subspecies of xenomorph that have been documented so far."

The commander pulled out his own holopad and brought up an identical image file. As he compared the two images he became more and more panicked. Finally he looked up from the recordings clearly sweating inside the helmet. "It seems as though things are worse than I thought." he said pulling up another data file. "This creature is a known threat to the corporation. Not only is it more intelligent than the average human, but there are distinct instances of it acting independently of a hive mind, and showing signs of self awareness. The creature in question has been codenamed Shadow, Primarily because of the hunter cloaking device it somehow managed to incorporate into its equipment. Though more it is more often referred to as such because so few people have had encounters with this being, that records of it's existence remain to be officially accepted. This xeno has taken a specific interest in the package we are assigned to protect. In fact, this xeno is the reason it is being transported to the Gamma Prime high security research facility. Section 4 laboratories was too lax on security."

Number 2 stepped forward and pointed to the holopad. "I think this should have come out before we got on this scrap heap of a ship in the first place. I mean everyone has heard rumors of the shadow's existence, but frankly I never would have signed on for this if I knew that something like that would show up here. I want out." The man said. The commander gave a gesture to number 5 who until now had remained silent in the corner of the room. Number 2 continued to speak "I was hoping to actually survive this missio… HURK ……" The man struggled for a bit before collapsing to the deck.

Number 5 checked to make sure number 2 was dead before releasing the electrical wire now wrapped tightly around the mans neck. "I knew this guy wouldn't cut it even before we even left the base. I believe I told you about not choosing the new recruits for this one." He said standing up and saluting the commander "where do you want the body sir."

The commander smiled slightly inside his helmet. "You've been waiting to garrote someone since we got on this ship haven't you."

Number 5 grinned and turned to the other men in the room stretching his wire taut "now it seems as though the commander is willing to allow anyone who wants out to leave the ship." The man kicked the body of number two into one of the engine reactors. "Anyone else care to join him." The room went silent as all the men turned to the commander and saluted sharply.

The commander relaxed slightly. Number 5 was his best officer and a close friend who had a unique talent for keeping moral high through sheer terror. "Well men you heard him who else wants to join number two there. No one?? Well than lets continue with the mission. I want number 4 to silence the creature while number 1 and 3 plant the charges on the engines like planned. I will not see this mission fail this is bigger than all of us and remember Gencor wont hesitate to silence us is we fail." With that the men filed out of the engine compartment and took up their positions around the ship. Save for number 2 who was now nothing more than a cloud of superheated plasma gently spiraling away into space. The commander smiled to himself slightly his tactical brain suppressing his initial uncertainty. "And so the game begins" he muttered to himself.

**Next time on ASV2 Chapter 6 comming soon. There will be more action, plus, learn the fate of Cassandra. Enjoy :) ... I hate to leave you hanging. Especially after such a long interval between chapters but I am writing as fast as I can.**


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